The Plan
by XIlikexsX
Summary: Sirius is fed up with being ignored by James, and is willing to do anything to get his best friend back; even if that means scheming a plan with a his most hated enemy. Potential slash.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Yeah you know that I must do this... I do not own Harry Potter, or anything pulled from it.

Please review with any suggestions you have or even to let me know about any errors in spelling or grammar. Reviewing with any type of feedback, excluding flames, is appreciated.

A/N: I have decided to thoroughly edit this first chapter, as I originally wrote it three years ago. I really hope to be able to continue writing this story.

Sirius Black bitterly watched as James Potter hastened his pace, making his way down the corridor to where Lily Evans was waiting for him.

"Good morning!" James shouted excitedly, after he got halfway to where Lily was standing.

"Morning," Lily replied while stifling a yawn. Both turned towards the staircase leading to the Great Hall, leaving Sirius to catch up on his own.

After a minute of walking, they reached the Gryffindor table, where they promptly sat down and began to pile food onto their plates. At least, James did. Lily was more wary of the food, remembering what had happened last time she sat down to eat. She knew James wasn't responsible for the mishap, and that it had to have been orchestrated by another Marauder, but that didn't stop her from being careful.

Sirius decided to sit further down the table than James and Lily, casting sidelong glances in their direction, fervently hoping that James would notice his absence. He didn't. James never noticed anything anymore, not with Lily beside him.

_Why am I doing this? _Sirius thought. _I know he won't care. All he ever thinks about now is his 'precious' Lily. Why couldn't that greasy haired git have stayed friends with her? At least then she would never have agreed to go out with James. _

Suddenly, Sirius thought of a brilliant plan, and for once, it wasn't a prank.

After breakfast, Sirius rushed off towards Potions, hoping that Snape wouldn't already be inside. He took a peak into the room, and saw that it was still empty, so he made his way down the hallway and stepped into an alcove as someone walked by muttering to themselves. Sirius poked out his head and saw that it was his intended target. He deliberated for a moment, wondering if he could really entrust Snape with something so important before his reckless side took control again. He quickly raised his wand, and muttered '_Diffindo_.' Snape's backpack tore and the contents fell out with a small, tinkling crash as an ink pot shattered. Everyone standing near sniggered as they made their way past Snape, some kicking his books as they went.

Once everyone had filed into the dungeon classroom, Sirius walked up to Snape while the he was breathing curses under his breath.

"Hey Severus," Sirius said as he sauntered closer, hoping his idea would work. He hated the slimey git, but when compared to what he felt for James, his hatred seemed paltry and inconsequential.

"What do you want, blood-traitor," spat Snape, expecting the usual torrent of hexes. He raised his wand, preparing to cast a shield charm, but was startled as the Black raised a hand in deference.

"Calm down, grease-ball," Sirius replied as calmly as possible, given the situation. "I have an idea, but… it requires us to cooperate. I think I know how _I_ can get my James back... and _you_ can get back your precious Lily."

"Alright then, let's hear it," Snape said hesitantly, as his mind raced. For once, he was interested in something a Marauder had to say, but he knew that Black was a master of guile, and could just be waiting for a perfect opportunity to strike. As much as he expected an attack, he couldn't help but go along. He'd do anything to get his Lily back, no matter what the consequences.

"Ok, here's what we can do…"


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See previous chapter, nothing has changed (…despite my best efforts .) Please review with any feedback, especially advice or constructive criticism. I'm torn between my desperate desire to write fanon, and my obsession with keeping things in canon. I know that Snape may seem a bit of character, but I'm trying my best to keep him in character. Also, I get that this already incorporates a lot of things that are purely fanon (such as Snape and Sirius working together!), but hey. It IS fanfiction.

Sirius sat in his usual spot in the Gryffindor common room. The fire blazed merrily in front of him, but it didn't warm him, nor help to reassure him as he turned his plan over in his mind. Across from him, on a squashy love chair, sat Remus Lupin. He was, of course, doing homework, or maybe studying, Sirius couldn't bother to find out. A quick glance to the floor between them showed him that Peter Pettigrew was sprawled, half napping. He was exhausted after stuffing himself with an impossible amount of food at dinner earlier.

Sirius looked to his left forlornly, knowing that his couch, which was usually shared by two people, only held one tonight. This was becoming commonplace recently. Before Lily had agreed to be friends with James, this had been _their_ couch. No one sat there except for James, in the seat closest to the fire, and Sirius, on his right hand side. They could always be found sitting closer together than necessary, but that hadn't meant anything. They were friends, best friends, and Sirius had always found the warmth from James to have more of an effect than anything the mundane fire could do.

Remus looked up from his history text as Sirius sighed. He was rather perceptive, and was considered intelligent for a reason. He knew what was wrong, having figured out the real problem their previous year. What he didn't know was why James couldn't see the same thing.

"What's up," he asked Sirius as nonchalantly as possible, not wanting to startle the boy or let on that he knew as much as he did about the seemingly hopeless situation.

Sirius looked up sharply, realizing that he must be acting noticeably different. He couldn't help it though, and after replying with a quick, and hopefully convincing, "nothing," he stared into the cheerful flames. Immediately, memories began coursing through his mind, of times when things with James had been different. He reminisced of when he first realized just how important James was to him.

…It was just after Sirius had received yet another Howler from his parents. It was nearing the Christmas break of his first year, and he had written home to implore his parents to allow him to stay at Hogwarts. His parents replied with a dreaded red letter that arrived during breakfast one morning. The Howler filled the Hall with his parents' voices. They exclaimed that he was "welcome to stay at Hogwarts with the mud-bloods for Christmas, and even for Easter, but they would remind him of his… heritage… when he returned that summer." The letter ended with a spiteful laughter from his mother, and Sirius ran out of the Great Hall, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes.

When Sirius ran out, Remus slowly stood up to follow him, but James firmly put his hand on his shoulder, saying that he would go instead. James ran as fast as his feet could take him, slowing only when he approached the mirror on the fourth floor, the one place where he thought he'd find Sirius. They had just recently discovered this secret room, and, by the dusty state of it, they had realized that no one else possibly knew about it.

"Sirius… Sirius," James called quietly, pushing the mirror back in place.

"What," he had replied, his voice cracking as tears continued to threaten escape.

"I'm sorry about what happened," James whispered, getting closer to Sirius. When he was beside him, he sat down and put his arm around him.

"I'm not really sure… of what to say to you," James continued. "I can't honestly say I know what you're going through, but what I can say is that I'm here for you. We all are. The Marauders stick together, right?" He hoped using the nickname they had just claimed for themselves would come across as showing unity, not as a joke.

"Thanks," Sirius uttered, leaning against James as the tears finally began to fall. They sat there, with James' arms wrapped around Sirius' shoulders for hours, not worrying about the classes they were missing. After Sirius felt he was ok, they quietly got up and left, knowing they were now closer than ever, and knowing neither would mention the incident again…

"Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, shaking the boy out of his trance.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about things," Sirius hastily said, recovering.

"I thought you had somewhere to go I was saying. You said you had detention tonight, right?" Remus scolded, knowing that Sirius was lying, but deciding to play along for the sake of his dignity.

"Oh. Oh! You're right!" Sirius yelped, as he shot up. A glance down at his watch had showed him that he was running late. He didn't actually have a detention, but he did have a very important meeting to make. He bolted through the hole leading out of the common room and sprinted up the stairs. He slowed as he finally reached the Astronomy Tower, hoping that Snape hadn't already left. He pushed open the door, and Snape whirled, wand in hand, as if he expected a trick.

_Doesn't he realize the immensity of the situation? _Sirius thought, scornfully. He wouldn't waste time hexing Snape, at least, not until this was all over.

"Put your wand away before you poke your eye out," Sirius quipped, as he sat down on top of on the unused desks.

Snape hesitantly lowered his wand, deciding that he must look foolish. Something he could see in Black's eyes made him realize that, for now at least, he could trust him. In those deep, grey eyes was mirrored the same longing, the same sorrow, he himself knew he expressed when he thought of Lily. But, there was no way Black wanted Lily, right…? The only other option, the one he realized he had suspected for quite some time, was that Black wanted James. This made things more interesting; knowing just how much was at stake. There was no way that Black would try to mess things up. A fleeting thought hit him as he sat down. _Does Black know just how much he cares about James?_ Snape pondered, before discarding the thought. He had no time for that, he just wanted Lily back.

"All right," admitted Sirius. "I haven't exactly worked out all of the details for this… plan. When we pull things off, usually that's Remus's work. I was hoping you could help with that."

Snape looked up, startled. This temporary alliance would take getting used to, but he knew he could contribute. Anything for Lily, he kept repeating to himself until it seemed to become a mantra.

"I think we need Lily to revert back to how she was a few months ago. Right now, for some reason, she's seeing past all the flaws she hated in James. Not that he has flaws. But she thinks he does, and that's what matters. We also need her to go back to being your friend. After… that mudblood incident, we've all noticed she hasn't been talking to you. Why is that? Didn't you at least apologize?" Sirius asked, hoping Snape would agree with things so far.

Snape snapped his attention to Sirius, wanting him to know just how much he needed this plan to work, too. "Of course I apologized! The only way I could get her to talk to me at all that night was by threatening to sleep outside your common room. She was hurt though, and nothing I said could change that… we've been drifting apart," Snape admitted, his feelings for Lily temporarily making him completely lower his guard.

"All right, I get it," Sirius said with a sigh. He had held a small hope that such a simple fix could exist. "What I think we need to do is to get Lily to sympathize with you again. If, no offense, I could just get James to want to hex you again, she'd get upset with him, and you could exaggerate and maybe get her to take your side again. I know it's not manly. It's not something you'd want to do, but it's all I can think of right now."

"I don't want her pity-" Snape started, but Sirius cut him off.

"I know. You don't want her pity. You want her to feel the same about you as you do about her, right? But that's never going to happen with her attention fixated on James." Sirius was getting frustrated. How had this happened, how could someone like Lily become such a threat that he was forced to join forces with Snape?

Snape looked down, feeling slightly ashamed. The one person he hated more than anyone sat before him, yet Snape could add nothing. He racked his mind, hoping for an epiphany, but nothing would come to him.

"Fine," Snape said, gritting his teeth. He didn't want to admit it, but Sirius's plan so far was better than what he had thought of. "Tomorrow, on the way to class, I'll leave myself vulnerable. You somehow get James to jinx me, and we'll see what happens from there… Make sure Lily's watching the first time; this isn't going to happen again."

With that, both boys stood up. They sized each other up momentarily, and Snape was the first to avert his eyes. Sirius stood there, watching as Snape left. When Snape had departed, he continued standing there, taking in his cold surroundings. Partly, he wanted to continue going over the plan and think of a way to make James curse Snape. The rest of his decision came from hoping that James would notice if he was late coming back.

Eventually, sometime past midnight, he crept back to the Gryffindor common room. The room was empty. _Of course James wouldn't be here waiting up, why would he? _Sirius thought grudgingly, making his way up the stairs to the 4th year dormitory.

When he got inside, he quickly shed his robes and put on his pajamas, slipping into bed. From the sound of snoring, he could tell that Peter was already asleep. Remus's soft breathing exuded from his right side, letting him know that he was also asleep. Sirius peered through the darkness, barely making out a shape on James's bed. The shape turned over, and by the silhouette, Sirius could tell James was facing him.

"Good. You're back. I'm glad," James muttered sleepily.

Sirius blushed as he filled with warmth, glad that his friend had waited up. "Yeah, detention was a pain," he replied.

"Mhm," came the quiet reply. "Good night, Siri."

Sirius got into bed, happiness coursing through his body. That nickname was one that James and Sirius used only when they were alone, and James hadn't used it since before he had started hanging out with Lily so much. This thought was the last thing that went through his mind before sleep took him.


End file.
